Timberwolves-Lakers Preview

Posted Dec 20 2013 6:07PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant is expected to miss about six weeks with an injured left knee, dealing the second major injury setback of the year to the Los Angeles Lakers' superstar guard.

An MRI exam on Thursday revealed Bryant has a fracture in his lateral tibial plateau - the top of his shinbone near his knee.

Bryant made his season debut with the Lakers (12-13) on Dec. 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He apparently was hurt again Tuesday in a 96-92 win at Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights.

After playing six games in 10 days, the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history is out again until February or longer - and the Lakers' already miserable run of injuries got even uglier as they prepare to host Minnesota (13-13) on Friday night.

"You hate it for Kobe," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters after practice Thursday. "He's worked so hard to get back, but he'll be back. He'll be back in six weeks. We've just got to weather the storm until he gets back."

The Lakers also announced Steve Nash will be out for at least four more weeks with nerve root irritation, leaving injury-riddled Los Angeles without its top three point guards and Bryant - who filled in at the point in recent games - for at least another week.

The Lakers signed point guard Kendall Marshall, a lottery pick by Phoenix in 2012, out of the D-League on Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, a tweet was posted on Bryant's official Twitter account that consisted solely of the hashtag: BrokenNotBeaten.

"I think he'll be back in six weeks, and he'll be hunting for some bear," D'Antoni said.

The rest of the Lakers found out about Bryant's injury after practice.

"It's hard to get this type of news, especially when we've got already so many injuries, when we've been through so many injuries the year before," Pau Gasol said. "It just keeps piling up. It's not the best thing for us, for sure, but we've just got to continue to go forward. We understand it can happen."

Bryant pushed himself to return to the Lakers quickly, but his left leg appeared to be visibly smaller than his right leg after months of inactivity and atrophy. D'Antoni and the Lakers' top brass often joke about their inability to control Bryant's relentless determination to play, even at the risk of his own health.

"It could happen at any time," D'Antoni said of Bryant's latest injury. "That's part of it. There's always going to be a risk until he gets used to playing, but the doctors are all over it. That's just bad luck."

Bryant matched his season high with 21 points Tuesday, but he went to the floor with 3:25 left in the third quarter. He stayed down briefly before standing up, and Bryant bent over at the waist as he flexed his left leg back and forth. He walked to the bench with trainer Gary Vitti, but returned to the floor following the timeout.

He hit a deep 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help clinch the win, Los Angeles' second in six games since his return, and played more than 32 minutes. Bryant said after the game that he twisted his knee, but it felt all right.

"I just hyperextended it," Bryant said when asked to describe what happened on the play. "I tend to hyperextend my knees every now and then."

Without Bryant on Nov. 10, the Lakers saw their 22-game run against the Timberwolves come to an end with a 113-90 home loss. It was the longest active winning streak between two NBA opponents, and Bryant had played in all but one of those victories.

Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds in last month's meeting and Kevin Martin scored 27 for Minnesota.

Love scored 29 points, grabbed 15 boards and handed out nine assists Wednesday as the Timberwolves beat Portland 120-109 for their fourth win in six games.

"Awesome," Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio said about Love. "There's no words to describe. He's doing a great job leading this team in scoring, rebounding, even assisting. He's taking my job."

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Lakers outlast Timberwolves 104-91

By JOE RESNICKPosted Dec 21 2013 2:29AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) The injury-ridden Los Angeles Lakers already have spent so much time playing without Kobe Bryant, losing him again for an extended period won't take them in uncharted territory.

Xavier Henry, the fourth player to start at point guard this season for coach Mike D'Antoni, scored 21 points and the Lakers began another long stretch without their 15-time All-Star by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-91 Friday night.

Bryant is expected to miss at least six weeks because of a fracture in his left knee, which occurred Tuesday night at Memphis when he fell to the court late in the third quarter of the Lakers' 96-92 win. The NBA's fourth all-time leading scorer finished that game, hitting a clutch 3-pointer to help seal the win. But an MRI on Thursday revealed the injury.

Bryant missed the first 19 games of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, an injury that occurred on April 12 - with two games left before the playoffs.

"It just prepared us," Henry said. "I mean, we started without him, and right now unfortunately we're without him again. But we know we can play. We know we can win games, and we have the confidence that we have other people that can do the job."

The Lakers returned from a 2-2 road trip and ended a three-game home losing streak. Pau Gasol, the only player to start all 26 games for the Lakers, had 21 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Reserve Nick Young scored 25 points, including a 4-point play that gave the Lakers a lead after Corey Brewer fouled him behind the arc with 2:37 left in the third quarter.

"We played to our strengths," Henry said. "I mean, me and Nick can attack them in different ways. Jodie Meeks can shoot it, and we've got a guy like Pau who's a really good playmaker."

Bryant, who last month signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension at age 35, made his return Dec. 8 and played just six games - all in 10 days. The 18-year veteran averaged over 32 minutes in the last three while shifting to point guard because of injuries to Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar.

The 39-year-old Nash, a two-time MVP who hasn't played since Nov. 10 because of back and hamstring issues, has played as many games as Bryant - and will remain sidelined at least four more weeks with nerve root irritation in his back. Blake missed his fifth game because of a torn ligament in his right elbow, and Farmar sat out his eighth due to a torn left hamstring.

D'Antoni used his 11th starting lineup, and Henry shot 8 for 19 and had four assists in 42 minutes. As a team, the Lakers had 27 assists despite the absence of a bona fide point guard.

"They understand the moment and they understand that this is their opportunity," D'Antoni said.

Kevin Love scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half and grabbed 13 rebounds for Minnesota, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers broke open a tight game with 3-pointers by Gasol and Young to help extend their lead to 100-91 with 2 minutes remaining. They outscored Minnesota 9-0 over the final 3:18.

Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 13 boards, but Brewer finished with just five points after missing all eight field goal attempts. Point guard Ricky Rubio missed the morning shootaround because he wasn't feeling well. He played 30 minutes, finishing with six points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Love powered the Timberwolves to a 53-51 halftime lead, fueling an 18-3 run with seven points in a 1:50 span to help turn an 11-point deficit into a 51-47 lead in the final minute of the second quarter.

"No energy. We have to be better than that," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "They outworked us all night long. It was a poor game on our part. "

NOTES: Henry was the 12th overall pick in the 2012 draft, by Memphis. His older brother C.J. was the 17th overall pick in the 2005 baseball draft, by the Yankees. ... This is the first time since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles that the Lakers have failed to go more than a game over .500 through their first 26 games in back-to-back seasons. ... Love has fouled out only once in 313 NBA games. It was against the Lakers on Jan. 30, 2009 - as a reserve - in a 132-119 loss at Minnesota.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Lakers 104, Timberwolves 91

THE FACT: Minnesota forward Kevin Love finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds but had no points and one rebound in 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

THE LEAD: The Lakers returned to action without Kobe Bryant for the second time this season and many expected to see a sudden downturn from a team that was already dealing with a laundry list of injuries. But that message seemed to get lost on its way to L.A., as three Lakers scored at least 20 points to lead the way in an impressive 104-91 victory against the Timberwolves at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "They understand the moment and they understand this is their opportunity, and when you have good guys that have good teammates and they pull for each other, anything is possible."-- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni

THE STAT: With three points guards out with injuries and Bryant sidelined for at least six weeks with a fractured left kneecap, Xavier Henry played out of his natural position at point guard and finished with 21 points, a career-high four assists and three turnovers (none in the second half).

TURNING POINT: After nine lead changes in the third quarter, Henry scored four consecutive points to give the Lakers the lead for good, 87-83. The Timberwolves drew within a point one last time with 5:09 remaining but that would be their final field goal. Pau Gasol dunked a loose ball on the other end and then picked up another loose ball after Nick Young was stripped and calmly drained a 3-pointer for 95-89 lead with 3:58 remaining. L.A. then closed with a 9-0 run to finish with their biggest lead of the game.

HOT: Gasol finished 10-for-15 from the floor with 21 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, the second time this season he posted at least 20 points and 12 rebounds. His only glitch was the seven turnovers, including five in the second half. Young was 9-for-14 off the bench with a team-high 25 points and kept the crowd enthused with his unpredictable play, which included five turnovers but none in the second half. Love was solid for three quarters but it was Nikola Pekovic who carried Minnesota down the stretch, scoring 15 of his 22 points after halftime and grabbing eight of his 13 rebounds in that span.

NOT: The month of December continues to be unkind for Minnesota shooting guard Corey Brewer. He missed all eight of his field-goal attempts and finished with five points and three turnovers in 28 minutes. In the last three games, he's a combined 3-for-22 from the floor. Kevin Martin shot 6-for-16 for the Timberwolves, which could explain why the team's second-leading scorer was subbed out for J.J. Barea with 3:35 remaining and Minnesota trailing by four. The Lakers committed 17 turnovers through the first three quarters before giving the ball away just twice in the fourth.

QUOTABLE II: "We knew they were going to play really hard. It's only our fault. They played hard and gave it everything and we didn't step up. -- Nikola Pekovic

GOOD MOVE: Lakers backup post player Chris Kaman played just once in the last 13 games as a result of back problems and coach Mike D'Antoni's endless search for different combinations. But he was summoned into the game at the 5:29 mark of the first quarter and quickly made his presence known, stuffing Brewer at the rim as he went up for a tomahawk dunk, which led to a lob dunk on the other end by Wes Johnson and a 30-19 lead. Kaman ended up playing 17 minutes, three more than starting forward Jordan Hill, and produced six points, three rebounds and two blocks.

BAD MOVE: Young's night had a little bit of everything, including a hold-your-breath moment in the final seconds of the game. He took a 3-pointer just as the shot clock was about to expire and with about 11 seconds left in the game, but drifted back into the courtside seating area, where he slipped on some leftover beverages from the departed spectators. Young stayed down for about a minute before limping to the sideline. Still, he couldn't contain his wide smile as he reached the bench, which allowed the remaining crowd to let out a sigh of relief.

NOTABLE: Lakers starting guard Jodie Meeks added 17 points, three short of giving the Lakers four 20-point scores in the same game for the first time since 1998. ... The Timberwolves fell to 0-6 when scoring less than 100 points this season. ... The Lakers have now won 23 of their last 24 games against the Timberwolves. ... The Lakers used their 11th different starting lineup this season. ... L.A. was 9-for-9 on fast-break opportunities, scoring 19 points.